Russell Hedges
rhedges@bossierpress.com
Bossier’s run of championships in its tournament ended at two, but the Bearkats still managed to capture third place in the 74th annual Bossier Invitational Saturday.
After losing to Byrd 63-59 in the semifinals Saturday afternoon, the Bearkats came back to defeat the Natchitoches Central Chiefs 52-44 in the third-place game Saturday night.
Orr Academy of Chicago won the the tournament with a 60-42 victory over Byrd. The Spartans survived a double overtime thriller against Natchitoches Central in the semifinals 73-68.
Orr, which featured 6-foot-9 Marlon Jones and 6-foot-7 Tyquan Greer, enjoyed a significant height advantage over every team it played except Natchitoches Central, which features 6-foot-9 sophomore forward Cameron Laird.
Bossier’s Lajerico Moss takes a shot over Byrd’s David Holmes during the semifinals of the Bossier Invitational Saturday afternoon.
The Chiefs had a chance to win in regulation, but they missed the front end of a 1-and-1 situation with 2.4 seconds left and the game went into overtime tied at 58. Each team scored four in the first OT, and the Spartans finally separated themselves in the second.
In the other semifinal, Bossier raced to an 18-5 lead over Byrd and still led 21-11 at the end of the first quarter.
But the Bearkats went cold in the third quarter and the Yellow Jackets got hot.
Byrd rallied to within two, 28-26, at the half. Bossier star Devonte Hall picked up his third foul trying to draw a charge on Byrd standout Chad Lott with 23.8 seconds left in the half.
The Yellow Jackets tied it early in the third quarter and led 51-45 after three quarters.
Hall, who finished with a game-high 23 points, got his fourth foul in the third quarter and fouled out with about a minute remaining.
Kentrell Hardy, Bossier’s second most reliable scorer, fouled out with about five minutes to play and Byrd eventually extended its lead to nine.
Bossier didn’t go quietly, though. The Bearkats fought back within three with 1:50 left and had a chance to tie. But Byrd blocked a 3-point shot from the baseline to end the threat.
Lott led the Yellow Jackets with 23 points and Montrey Thomas added 14. Darius Leary had a nice game for Bossier with 17 points.
Bossier’s third-place game against Natchitoches Central was tight most of the way with the Bearkats pulling away at the end.
Hall, who was named to the all-tournament team, led the Bearkats with 27 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter.
In the championship game, Byrd hung with Orr for a half. The game was tied at 28, but the Spartans used their height advantage and quickness in a 21-0 run to open the third quarter.
In Friday’s quarterfinals, Bossier knocked off Louisiana New Tech at Plain Dealing 48-33 and Parkway fell to Orr 73-34.
Hall led the Bearkats with 22 points, and Lajerico Moss had 10. New Tech got 12 points from Tray Harris.
Airline fell to Booker T. Washington 66-61 in a consolation game. Larry Robinson, KJ Bilbo and Noah Hildebrand led the Vikings with 12 points apiece. Frankie Rogers added 11.
